Journey Is Man's Ministry

The Ohio Native Preached In 47 States And 13 Countries, Traveling In The Manner Of The Apostles.

October 29, 2004|By Christopher Sherman, Sentinel Staff Writer

DAVENPORT -- Carla Murcela Buitrago was on her way to work Thursday morning when something made her turn around.

"It struck me," she said in Spanish. "I saw Jesus. I had to see him. I had to talk to him."

Of course, it wasn't really Jesus Christ walking on the shoulder of U.S. Highway 27 barefoot, wearing a white robe tied at the waist with a rope and carrying a red Bible, but Buitrago can't be blamed for thinking so.

Carl J. Joseph, or James as he prefers, fits the common image of Jesus Christ with a smiling face that looks far younger than his 44 years, long blond hair and a scraggly beard.

Joseph, originally from Ohio, has walked through 47 states and 13 countries in the 13 years since he decided to shed material possessions and travel light while evangelizing in the style of the Apostles.

He never claims to be Jesus but rather feels that this lifestyle brings him closer to understanding Christ.

"I try to work for that greater unity to help counteract this trend that distances us from God," he said, with tractor-trailers rumbling by a few feet away.

He doesn't carry money or a change of clothes -- Buitrago invited him to her daughter's home to counsel her and wash his robe. Acts of kindness like that keep him going, but he said he does not depend on the charity of people "because people are unreliable."

He depends on God. That has led to some extensive stretches of fasting and unpleasant days in bad weather.

"It's been extremely difficult in Florida," he said. There are so many transients and "crazies" that people often think his journey is a gag. At Biketoberfest in Daytona Beach last weekend, he met a man who actually thought he was Jesus, Joseph said, shaking his head.

The responses he receives run the gamut. Ironically, some of the supposedly most religious people are the nastiest to him, while others who look to be hard cases often are quite open.

Local law enforcement usually checks him out to make sure he's not wanted for anything. Sure enough, a Polk County deputy sheriff stopped him Thursday, but just for a chat.

But police haven't always been so receptive.

Joseph was arrested Aug. 29, 1999, in the small southern Ohio town of Greenfield. His presence had drawn a crowd late one night, and when he refused to break up the gathering or accept a ride out of town, he was arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct by persistence. The charge was later dropped.

Joseph grew up in a home void of religion. His life hit rock bottom when he was 19 -- he didn't give details -- and his father gave him a pocket version of the New Testament. At that moment, he heard his calling that evolved into his bare-bones traveling ministry.

He was headed for a church in Kissimmee on Thursday and planned to eventually make his way to Orlando, though big cities have not provided his most responsive audiences.